39,327
edits
Sympathetic POV: Difference between revisions
m
Mass update links
(Import from TV Tropes TVT:Main.SympatheticPOV 2012-07-01, editor history TVTH:Main.SympatheticPOV, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported license) |
m (Mass update links) |
||
Line 4:
Just like being on TV makes you 10 pounds heavier, the camera also makes you [[Pet the Dog|far more]] [[Rule of Empathy|sympathetic]]. The same story, [[Perspective Flip|told from two different points of view]], can flip the roles of hero and misguided antagonist simply by switching perspective.
Fits a particular kind of story that has more room for moral interpretation, without stark moral contrasts that instantly discredit the other side. If it ''does'' have clear [[Heroes|White Hats]] and [[Villains|Black Hats]], the best the bad guy can expect is a [[Dead Little Sister]], [[Pet the Dog]], [[Freudian Excuse]] or [[Start of Darkness]] detailing how they [[Fallen Hero|fell from grace]]. The end result is [[Protagonist
Compare [[Villain Episode]] and [[POV Sequel]]. Contrast with [[In Another
{{examples
== Anime & Manga ==
Line 15:
* ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] A's'' does this for the Wolkenritter. While they at first appear to be evil when their motives haven't been revealed, the narrative POV later occasionally changes and focuses on them, their past and such. Turns out they are just trying to save an innocent [[Ill Girl]] that showed them what a real family is like.
* The staff and cast of ''[[Code Geass]]'' openly admits that [[Magnificent Bastard|Lelouch]] is a [[Nineties Anti Hero]]. Ultimately subverted, intentionally or not, in that he often suffers [[Disproportionate Retribution]], and that some of his problems are a result of [[Diabolus Ex Machina]], especially later on in the series, whereas [[Karma Houdini|the comparable if not worse transgressions of a few other characters]] [[Moral Dissonance|are never addressed]].
* On the flipside, it seems that part of the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh]]'' fanbase feels that the show's token [[Draco in Leather Pants|leather pants wearing]] [[Anti
* [[Smug Snake]] Makoto Isshiki of [[Rah Xephon]] has an episode-long flashback of his childhood living with the [[Omniscient Council of Vagueness|Bahbem foundation]], revealing a [[Start of Darkness]] which makes his child-self a complete [[Woobie]]. Although he remains a bastard throughout the series, this insight colours his [[Kick the Dog|future actions]] effectively and makes his motive much more understandable, if not entirely likable.
* In any other setting, ''all'' of the characters (except Kasumi Tendo and Akari Unryu, both of whom are practically background characters) of [[Ranma One Half]] would be horrible monsters who might occasionally do good deeds (some more then others), but are still horrific [[Jerkass|JerkAsses]] whose sole good quality is they constantly tear into each other instead of teaming up and wreaking havoc on the countryside. As Ranma 1/2 focuses specifically on them, however, they can come off as amusing, sympathetic, even tragic.
* Zig-zagged in ''[[Death Note (Manga)|Death Note]]''. Light is the [[Well
* A large factor of the Magic World arc as a whole in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]''. From Negi's point of view, Fate Averruncus is a dangerous terrorist who is trying to destroy the world. When we see the matter from Fate's point of view, he's trying to stop some brat from interfering with his plan {{spoiler|to save over a billion lives}} in the only way he knows how. {{spoiler|Both are right, so they manage to come to a compromise, unlike the previous generation.}}
== Comicbooks ==
* This is the entire reason Rorshach of ''[[Watchmen]]'' is considered an [[Anti
* The comic ''[[Lex Luthor Man of Steel|Lex Luthor: Man of Steel]]'' looked at [[Superman]] from the perspective of his [[Arch Nemesis]]. Here, Superman comes across as a cold, distant, incredibly powerful alien whose immense natural abilities make a mockery of human accomplishments.
** Although in this case, for all his supposed humanism and the angry glowing super-eyes of his rival, Luthor's actions in the comic still make it absolutely clear who the villain is.
Line 30:
== Film ==
* ''[[The Prince of Egypt]]'' does this with Rameses, focusing equally on him and Moses. He's generally shown as a nice guy struggling between responsibility and his own feelings (but with two [[Evil Chancellor|Evil Chancellors]]) who genuinely loves his (foster) brother, and doesn't descend into outright villainy until [[God]] goes "biblical" on Egypt.
* In ''[[Land of the Dead]]'', the gas station attendant zombie gets peeved at the humans [[What Measure Is a Non
* In the movie (well, at least the remake) ''[[The Longest Yard]]'', most of the protaganist's football team are self-confessed scumbags and degenerates. The viewers end up rooting for them because the guards are even nastier.
* ''[[Four Lions]]'' is a black comedy from the POV of four Islamist terrorists who are just young guys who happen to want to blow themselves and other people up.
Line 43:
** Many think that this is Vetinari's doing, since his whole modus operandi for staying in power is that everyone hates him, but hates each other more.
* Steven Brust does this very well in some of his [[Dragaera]] novels. For instance, the leader of [[La Résistance]] in the ''Taltos'' series was a servant of one of the heroes of the ''Khaavren Romances'', and each is presented as a minor character in the opposite series. Similarly, through [[Canon Welding]], the human hero Fenario, of an originally-unrelated novel based on Hungarian folklore, turns up as the leader of a somewhat unsympathetically-presented rebellion against [[The Empire]] in the ''Khaavren Romances'', and ultimately signs a treaty with the hero of that series.
** And, of course, from most perspectives other than Vlad's, a cast that includes several [[Career Killers]], the [[Blood Knight]] [[
** It's a more minor example, but in one instance, Vlad makes a comment about how Dragaerans have no taste in wine, which shows in the fact they call a wide cross-section of beverages wine, and don't differentiate. Paarfli at one point comments on how Easterners have no taste in wine, which ''he'' bases on the fact that they oddly decided to give a bunch of names to the same beverage.
** The novel ''Tiassa'' includes segments from the perspective of Cawti, and she comes across as far more likable than she did in some of Vlad's narration. There's a definite impression that Vlad's bitterness over their break-up meant that his presentation of her wasn't wholly accurate.
Line 72:
* The main character in ''[[Dexter]]'' is a murdering psychopath, but comes off as a likable guy because he has all the screen-time.
** Not that he's completely unsympathetic, only killing other killers and sticking to his code as best he can. But if the show was called "Doakes" or "Lundy" he would be the [[Affably Evil]] morally ambigous [[Big Bad]].
*** The show wouldn't be called ''Doakes'' if they could get away with ''Doakes, [[Cluster F
* Some episodes of ''[[Criminal Minds]]'' give the killer a huge portion of screentime to the point where in a couple, they're more the protagonist than the actual protagonists. Of course, some of those guys are just generally sympathetic anyway, but the bonus screentime certainly helps.
** The best example of this is the episode "True Night," in which the perspective is with the unsub probably three-quarters of the time; we never even see the team deliver the profiler, or the witnesses come forward. It is very effective.
Line 87:
== Videogames ==
* In ''[[Suikoden III]]'', getting all your army's possible recruits by a certain point in plot [[Hundred Percent Completion|unlocks a second playthrough]] of many of the game's plot twists from the antagonists' perspectives. {{spoiler|Though Luc ''still'' comes off as a whiny git, and anyone that would willingly team with [[Card
** There is a much better earlier in the game. From Hugo's POV {{spoiler|He comes home to find his village in flames. Than his best freind is cut down right in front of him by a knight.}} From Chris' POV {{spoiler|Her men are attacked at what was surpose to be a peaceful truce meeting and are forced to set a fire and escape though a village. On the way out someone attacks her and she kills him before she notices that he is just a kid.}}
* The game ''[[TIE Fighter]]'' applies this trope to the ''[[Star Wars]]'' movies: [[The Empire]] are the guardians of peace and order, fighting terrorists and Imperial factions.
** The [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]] takes it even further; there are a lot of books where the Imperial characters who don't jump ship to the New Republic are [[Card
*** [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Tenn_Graneet Tenn Graneet] could be the poster boy for this trope. In ''[[A New Hope]]'', he's the heartless Imperial bastard who push-buttons [[Earthshattering Kaboom|Alderaan into oblivion]]; in ''[[Death Star]]'' [[My God, What Have I Done?|he's]] [[Heroic BSOD|much]] [[Be Careful What You Wish For|more]] [[Doomed By Canon|sympathetic]] [[The Woobie|by far]].
* A campaign of ''[[Age of Empires II (Video Game)|Age of Empires II]]'' features Saladin vs. the Crusaders. Another, Barbarossa, at a certain point enters the Third Crusade and fights Saladin. And the expansion of the previous game had four campaigns on the [[Ancient Rome|Roman Empire]], and another with Rome's enemies.
* ''[[Iji (Video Game)|Iji]]'' has the [[Story Breadcrumbs|logbooks]] of the Tasen {{spoiler|and the Komato}}, including such things as one soldier gushing about her girlfriend (Yes "her", [[Les Yay|you overjoyed]] [[Yuri Fanboy]]), and another wondering if he has his gun loaded, because he thought he saw something big right around that corner. They show that not all of the alien soldiers you're killing are heartless monsters, after all. Some of them are, though.
* One of the four playable characters in ''Dreamfall: [[The Longest Journey]]'' is Kian Alvane, a faithful soldier and apostle of the Azadi Empire, which up until that point of the game is seen only as [[The Empire]]. His prescence in the game adds shades of grey to the empire's action, both by making the Empire's motivations seem more human, and by presenting a counterpoint to April Ryan's (one of the game's other protagonists and a rebel fighting the Azadi) seemingly-righteous goals.
* Used to great effect in ''[[Yggdra Union]]'' starting in the middle of the seventh chapter, where the game's [[Grey and Gray Morality]] becomes blatant. This is the first point in the game where the important scenes starting off each battlefield are shown from an Imperial perspective, {{spoiler|and happens to be just in time to make the remaining generals' [[Heroic Sacrifice]] moments considerably more poignant}}.
* ''[[Breath of Fire]] IV'' allows the player to control the [[God
* In the jump from ''[[Persona 2]]: Innocent Sin'' to ''Eternal Punishment'' has this with Tatsuya's older brother, Katsuya. He's rather dislikable in ''Innocent Sin'', shown as a distant big brother who puts work before family. However, in ''Eternal Punishment'', he's a kind older brother who constantly worries about his delinquent, rebellious younger brother. What caused this sudden shift? The change in perception of course: in Innocent Sin you're playing from the perspective of Tatsuya, whereas in Eternal Punishment you're playing from the perspective of Maya Amano, who has JUST met him.
* ''[[Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe]]'': The characters of both respective franchises, whether they be good or evil, see the other side as alien invaders trying to enslave their world. They all come to their senses at the very last minute.
Line 107:
== Western Animation ==
* ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' frequently switches between the POV of Aang and [[Anti
** There is also a scene towards the end of the series from Azula's POV, where {{spoiler|we see that she hallucinates her mother, who she argues with about whether or not her mother loved her.}} It doesn't make her less of a villain, but it still makes her more pitiable.
* Some episodes of ''[[Liberty's Kids]]'' would be shown from the British point of view. It makes it easier to see that they had their reasons and justifications in the whole span of [[The American Revolution]].
| |||